THE SECRETAKY'S PORTFOLIO. 201 



iinib. Last year one of our neighbors, when his apple trees were in full 

 blossom, carefully girdled some limbs on several trees, and the blossoms 

 produced no fruit on the limbs thus treated ; but this year those limbs have 

 blossomed full, and no blossoms on the limbs that bore last year. 



THINNING FEUIT. 



Patrick Barry, in his annual message to the Western New York Horti- 

 cultural Society, remarks at some length upon the value of thinning fruit on 

 the tree. We gather as follows from his statements : 



I think the time has come when this operation can no longer be profitably 

 neglected. Fruit is becoming so abundant that a common or inferior quality 

 will not sell, or, at any rate, will not command a paying price. When one- 

 half or three-fourths of the apple crop is fit only for the cider-mill or evapor- 

 ator, and will not sell for more than five or ten cents per bushel, the orchard 

 becomes a very poor investment. The time has come when fine fruits only 

 will pay ; the growing of poor fruits is already overdone ; the growing of fine 

 fruits will, 1 am pretty sure, never be overdone. 



Let me, then, urge upon orchardists the necessity of thinning as well as of 

 good culture. But when we advise thinning, we are promptly told it will not 

 pay ; the labor costs too much ; it is not practicable on a large scale, etc., etc. 

 The fact seems to be overlooked that it is no more labor to thin the fruits than 

 it is to gather a crop of poor, unmarketable fruits. Thinning at the proper 

 time not only enables the tree to bring the remaining crop to perfection, but 

 gives a quality of fruit that will find ready sale and a fair price any season, 

 and besides, it saves the tree from exhaustion. 



SHADING THE SOIL. 



Mr. Daniel Smith, of Newburg, N. Y., says the following sensible things 

 about mulching : 



"My own observation satisfies me that we are too much disposed in the cul- 

 tivation of plants to leave the soil exposed to the burning rays of the sun. So 

 also with the fruit and ornamental shrubbery. The consequence is the mois- 

 ture is so evaporated as to retard the growth if not entirely destroy the plant. 

 We have found by actual experiment that some of our flowering plants that 

 will not flourish in soils exposed to the sun succeed admirably when planted in 

 the lawn with the grassy sod growing around and among them. The best 

 Japan lilies I have seen in this vicinity were grown in this manner. Nearly or 

 quite all of the varieties of our beautiful Japan lilies fail to succeed in our cul- 

 tivated grounds unless the surface is kept cool by mulching. The same may 

 be said of most of our garden as well as our field plants. Strawberries, for 

 instance are particularly benefited by this treatment, and by proper attention 

 to it newly-set plants may be saved, as well as fine crops insured from estab- 

 lished plants." 



